1. Field of the Invention
The structure of this invention resides in the area of golf jackets and more particularly relates to a golf jacket with an extension to be worn in the rain to protect the golfer's hands and club grip which rain might otherwise cause the club to slip within the golfer's grasp.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It has long been appreciated by golfers that one must maintain a non-slippery grasp of the golf club. When it rains, the grip will invariably get wet making it very difficult to maintain an adequate grasp. A wet grip of the club will usually cause an unsatisfactory striking of the ball. In the prior art, gloves to be worn in the rain have been created to protect the user's hands. One such example is U.S. Pat. No. 3,203,005 to Burrows which discloses a two-handed mitten having two openings for the insertion therein respectively of the golfer's hands and an opening for the insertion of the club's grip for grasping. Another approach to this problem is seen in the dry-grip sleeve disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,397,891 to T. Koch wherein an enclosure of a cloth material is provided into which one or both hands can be inserted through the same opening with the club's grip inserted into another opening below and which sleeve can, in one embodiment, have a stretchable top for the accommodation of both hands therein if desired. A more recent patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,564,956 to DiBuono for a Golf Glove with Rain Shield shows a covering structure with two openings for the hands and one for the golf club grip to be inserted therein. A golf glove is incorporated within the structure into which one hand is inserted while the other hand passes through a slit in the body of the structure to also grasp the club grip.
A common problem with the prior art is that these structures represent extra accessories which must be purchased separately and carried with the golfer. These accessory items can frequently become lost or misplaced and can be difficult to find in one's golfbag as they are frequently made of fabric and will wrinkle when thrown into a bag with other golfing paraphernalia. These golf accessories also can get wet during the process of putting them on. One may also have to remove their regular golf glove to utilize some of these prior art golf accessories. Furthermore, some of these glove structures are restrictive to the hand and arm movements which would interfere with the golfer's swing.